Series 1 featured 48 monsters in four different colors–red, yellow, purple and green. The monsters were based on legends, myths and folklore from around the world, including everything from a vampire and the Frankenstein monster to Bigfoot and Medusa.

Each monster was not only numbered (the number printed onto the foot or base of each figure), but also assigned a point value from 5 to 25, determined by (according to the list of figures included with each box) “intelligence, strengths, weaknesses, speed and range.” The point value could be used to play “Monster War,” the instructions for which were printed on the same list, and later became the basis for determining a winner in both the Battle Cards game and Decipher board game and the points awarded for destroying each monster in the video game.

The monsters were originally released in boxes of four, twelve, and 24, and the complete series could be purchased in a Monster Mountain display case. They were later re-released in neon colors (similar to but not quite the same colors as series 2) in boxes of 12 and 24. Series 1 monsters were also given away as premiums for a number of different promotions, which accounts for the occasional oddly-colored figure (Frosted Wheat Squares, for example, gave away monsters in dark green, pink, blue and orange).

Countless other items were released featuring the series 1 monsters, including another board game, Monster Clash; stickers, a poster, a third board game, and a tote bag were all available through the original Collectors Club, as well as trading cards, which were also available as premiums from 7-11; an Aladdin lunchbox; and Collegeville Halloween costumes.

Later on, monsters from the first series also featured prominently in the comic books, video game and cartoon, and three of the four Howlers were based on series 1 monsters, despite the fact that they were labeled “Super Scary” Howlers, unusually suggesting they would be based on figures from series 4.

Occasionally, an odd, previously unknown item will pop up on eBay, such as a pin or kite–due to their rarity, however, not much can be said about them.

Globally, unusual MIMP items pop up as well; Argentina and Mexico have both brought forth uniquely colored series 1 MIMPs and single-monster fun packs were available in parts of Europe and Hong Kong.

Morrison Entertainment and Matchbox got in trouble with Hindu leaders for featuring the goddess Kali as one of the monsters. An official apology was made later, yet the series would feature other Hindu gods twice more in future series.

The toys were sold in 4, 12 and 24 packs, and were also available in a MIMP Cauldron along with some other memorabilia (possibly including a set of series 2 Battle Cards, Monster Pouch, and baseball cap).

Series 2 figures were also released as a Spaghetti-Os promotion. Beneath each label was a check list with sets of three series 2 figures that you could mail away for by sending in a certain number of labels.

There was also a MIMP promotion with an unknown pizza restaurant with reflective stickers featuring series 2 monsters used as giveaways.

Around this time, the Haunted House playset was announced on the backs of packaging and on the list of series two monsters that came with each package, though it’s generally accepted that the product was most likely never released.

The Hindu god Ganesha was featured as a monster in series 2, again upsetting Hindus (as they had previously produced a Kali figure for series 1) and Morrison Entertainment and Matchbox were forced to issue apologies yet again. The companies would come under fire a third time for releasing a Hanuman figure with the series 4 Super Scary monsters.

Figures from series 3 frequently popped up in the backgrounds of scenes in the comic books, though throughout the four issues they were never major characters, nor did they have dialogue or were they even referred to. One exception is the third issue, where a two-page spread depicting Monster Mountain shows the Blemmyea figure and two monsters labeled “Sciapod” and “Bash Tchelik” alongside other common series 1 and 2 monsters.

Like series 2, the monsters were worth up to 30 points, with monsters like the Abominable Snowman, Anubis and Leviathan being worth the most. The figures that were released in Canada as premiums with Shreddies cereal came in pink, orange, green, and blue–similar to the series 2 colors, but not quite the same. The Blemmyea figure that came with the video game was available in all four “standard” colors, while the Abominable Snowman figure that was given away as part of a Bob’s Big Boy promotion came in purple and yellow (a bit more intense than the series 1 purple and yellow figures). Which colors were to be the “official” colors, if the series had in fact been released, has yet to be determined.

Because they were only released as promotions, and not as a full set, the series 3 monsters are considered extremely rare and valuable to collectors and frequently fetch astronomical prices, often $50-100 or more for a single monster.

The reason why the full series was never released is up for speculation.

The Super Scary monsters came in neon yellow, neon green, purple and an intense salmon color (somewhere between neon pink and neon orange). The monsters were now worth up to 100 points, and those worth the most (such as Charon, Thunderdell and Hanuman) came in glow in the dark yellow and green. Each series 4 monster also had two colors of paint applied to some of its features to give it additional detail–faces, hands, hair and so on were painted black, red, orange, yellow and green. The monsters were a bit taller than those in the past three series as well.

Series 4 was sold in 6 and 12 packs–the latter doubled as a display case, presenting the monsters against a haunted house backdrop.

1992 also marked the release of the MIMP cartoon, which premiered Halloween on ABC’s Saturday morning children’s programming lineup. The pilot episode was preempted in many areas by sports coverage, and no series ever came of the single show, as was suggested in the Monster Mailer newsletter.

Super Scary Howlers were released to coincide with series 4. Unusually, despite being labeled as “Super Scary,” none of the four monsters featured were from series 4; Vampire, the Monster and Werewolf were all from series 1 and Swamp Beast was from series 2.

Morrison Entertainment and Matchbox upset many Hindus by featuring an Indian diety–in this case, Hanuman–as a monster, and the figure was later replaced with a Dybbuk in some of the 12 packs. This marks the third time a Hindu god was featured as a monster in the MIMP toyline and was later removed from circulation. Despite this, none of the three figures (Kali, Ganesha and Hanuman) are considered particularly rare.

Super Creepies came in vivid red, orange, yellow and green colors, and the details were painted in red, green, yellow, black and brown.

A typical platformer, the video game allowed one to play individually as either the Monster or the Vampire (neither had any advantage over the other), or team up with a friend in a two player mode. The Vampire and the Monster are watching TV as the game begins when the signal is interrupted and Warlock appears on the screen, challenging them to a battle. The game then commences through six levels where the player punches his way through nearly every series one monster (with a few exceptions) and a few series two monsters (Minotaur features in the last stage and Warlock is the final boss)–as well as some environmental hazards, such as golf balls and burning stovetops.

Most monsters take only one hit to destory, a few take two or three (Windigos, who is spawned only by the final Warlock boss, take five or six hits a piece) and the bosses take even more than that.

The game mechanics consist solely of running, jumping, punching, and occasionally picking up and throwing items at enemies. The variety of enemies is great, each one having its own unique movement or attack pattern. Each stage is also themed uniquely: the monsters start out in a bedroom, move on to the kitchen, a sewer, a construction site, an “oriental” land (for some reason), and finally Monster Mountain itself.

The copy on the back of the box reads:

Cutting The Enemy Down To Size Will Be No Small Feet.

Thousands of history’s famous monsters gather for the meeting of the century. But their volcanic convention center erupts, mysteriously turning them into terrors of pint-size proportions. They escape to the home of Jack, the teenage “Captain of Cool”. There begins a battle between the good ghouls and The Warlock’s band of evil beasts.

You must become The Vampire or The Monster and lead the forces of right through a humongous, human-size world six levels deep, featuring Jack’s house, a scummy sewer, a hazardous construction site and an odd oriental place. Don’t get burned on the stove or crushed by runaway golf balls. And try to avoid getting clubbed by flying fish or jabbed on the barbed wire fence. In fact, all things considered, you may want to team with a friend and put up twice the fight. Either way, you’ll find yourself falling down manholes, jumping over fences, scaling steel girders, and riding on a soda pop can. Meanwhile you’ll have to punch and zap at all your fiendishly favorite monsters including the head rolling Skeleton, the rock candy throwing Goblin, the fire spitting Haniver, the bone crushing Cyclops and dozens more.

Every monster you mash is worth points. Score enough and you’ll get an extra life. Something you’ll really need when you finally face the powerful Warlock and his magic lightning jolts. So be a pocket-size peacemaker and conquer the smallest threat to monsterdom the world has ever known.

In addition to the game itself, the box included a free Blemmyea (series 3, number 81) figure, in this case described on the box as a “rare Konami monster,” in either orange or blue. It can be assumed that purchasing the game was the only way to get the rare series 3 figure at all. Of additional note, the plastic the figure is made out of seems a bit tougher than the typical “squishy” type that makes up other MIMPs.

The illustrations are straight-forward renditions of monsters, for the most part, with a few exceptions: while most of the art featured on the cards shows a colored, finely-detailed depiction of each monster in its “natural habitat,” the Winged Panther card, for instance, resembles the actual figure very little, in both its stance and its overall appearance. The depiction of Gremlin, too, is similar to the figure, but not as exact a representation as that seen on the other cards. It’s not clear why; the assumption that the cards are based on prototypes seems possible, though the the Triton card does not feature the “bident” that can be seen in the figure’s hand on the series 1 list of figures. On the other hand, the illustration on the Medusa card does feature the dramatically torn shirt and prominent chest which was later toned down for the finished monster–the same design can be seen on the figure in the series 1 list. So anything is possible.

The back of each card features four bullet points, describing details such as the monster’s approximate birthdate, its region of origin, size, species and so on. Beneath that is a short description of the monster, its origins, disposition and powers, if any. The writing takes a very lighthearted approach to the creatures, as with most MIMP items. Additionally, the monster’s number and point value are labeled on the back.

The back of the card also featured a border which varied depending on the monster’s point value: 25 point monsters had a bat-themed border, for instance, 20 point monsters had a demon and scroll, 15 point monsters had snakes and trees, 10 point monsters had leaves and a fairy and five point monsters had a rabbit-like creature on its border. The Ogre card is misprinted; Ogre is worth 10 points, but the card labels it as a 15 point monster–the mistake is made more evident when looking at the backs of the cards in an organizer, as its border is the standard 15 point “snakes” border and all the surrounding cards have the correct 10 point “fairy” border.

Series 2 and 3 trading cards occasionally show up on eBay, usually from Mexican or Argentine sellers. It is uncertain whether or not anything besides the series 1 deck was sold in North America and Europe, and any cards from the second or third series are extremely rare.

Series 1 cards could be purchased in individual packets of eight (six cards and two stickers) at stores or through the Collectors Club for $0.50 a piece. The entire set of 48 could also be purchased through the Collectors Club for $11.50, which came with a bonus poster instead of the individual stickers.

Series 1 cards were also given away in clear packs of three with the purchase of a Slurpee at 7-11.

In Italy, cards and a single monster, both from series 1, were packaged together and sold in “fun packs”.

The idea, like the Monster Pouch, was that it would be a convenient carrying case for monsters once you ran out of room in your pockets. The bag, however, is made of thin plastic that feels layered, for lack of a better term, and probably wouldn’t be suitable for carrying too many figures for very long.

It features the same illustration on each side of the bag. The artwork is the same as that found on the stickers.

The artwork is the same that was used on the Monster Keeper Tote Bag, also a Collectors Club exclusive.

Inside the pouch is a tag, which reads:

© MEG
MADE IN CHINA
100% PVC ON TOP LAMINATE
WITH 100% POLYESTER AT BACK

The Matchbox logo is present in the upper right-hand corner of the tag.

Members of the Collectors Club could also receive the complete poster as a bonus by purchasing the complete set of 48 cards for $11.50 from the form on the newsletter .

The illustration is by Jenice Heo and Jan Sheets–the same illustration found on the trading cards.

There are virtually no pins in circulation, and it is unknown how many may have been made, where and why they were released.

This Medusa pin is the only known example–to date, no other variations appear to have come up.

The lunchbox is red and has a black sticker on the front depicting a pocket with Skeleton, Werewolf, Medusa, Ogre, and what appears to be Gremlin standing around and sitting along the pocket’s edges. A human hand with Hobgoblin sitting on the index finger points inward from the left. The red and yellow Monster In My Pocket logo appears in the upper left-hand corner. The Aladdin company’s address is written across the bottom of the sticker, and the Aladdin logo is displayed across the back of the box.

The thermos is white with a red cap and base. The images that wrap around the thermos include: a pocket with the MIMP logo on it with Hobgoblin popping out from the top and Skeleton and Medusa standing on either side; Werewolf, Ogre, Great Beast, and Windigo; Monster Mountain (with the words “Monster Mountain” written in white above it), with Bigfoot, Tyrannosaurus Rex, a vulture, a winged monster and a full moon surrounding it. The top and bottom of the thermos have the Aladdin logo; the bottom includes patent information about the thermos.

It’s a fifty inch kite that came in a “bonus pack” that also contained the cord and winder. The actual kite has a colorful picture of Tengu climbing out of a pocket next to the MIMP. It is labeled a “Plastic Delta Kite with KEEL.”

Like the Halloween costumes, which feature similar artwork and packaging design, there were three variations: Tengu, Hobgoblin and Windigo.

“KIDSTUFF Pizza” is printed in the lower, right-hand corner, along with some standard Morrison Entertainment Group copyright information and a warning that the sticker may damage some materials printed vertically across the right-hand edge.

The sticker was printed in 1991.

Only four were released: Vampire, Werewolf, The Monster and Swamp Beast (interestingly, none of which were from the Super Scary series). The selection of monsters most likely made to match with the then about-to-be-released cartoon, which featured all four monsters prominently.

A check or money order for $5-10 would get a year-long membership in the club, with perks such as an official membership card, a “Monstership Certificate,” startling stickers, Monster Keeper totebag, March of the Mini Monsters game and two issues of the Monster Mailer, the official MIMP Collectors Club newsletter.

The membership card was made of plastic and was stamped with a unique membership number. The front had a line for members to sign their name and the back was “signed” by Joe Morrison, Vampire and Warlock, much in the same way it was on the Monstership Certificate.

The March of the Mini Monsters board game was a large board game featuring an illustration of Monster Mountain printed on glossy paper. Individual colored squares had drawings of each series 1 monster and were colored red, purple, green or yellow. Additionally, there were colored squares to cut out that were used in conjunction with the illustrations to advance through the game, along with a few extra squares with directions to skip a turn, go back so many spaces and so on. A red plastic decoder was included to unscramble messages throughout the game.

The six-page Monster Mailer newsletter unfolded across a sheet of paper as wide as three standard-sized sheets, with information printed on both sides. Included were games, a monster-drawing contest, a history of Spring-Heeled Jack, an update on the upcoming Super Scary figures (referred to as “Series III” here, as the real series 3 was never fully released) and Dinosaur figures (oddly skipping over the Super Creepies entirely), and order form for other MIMP memorabilia, letters from fans answered by monsters themselves (including the first mention of a MIMP cartoon) and a message from Joe Morrison.

Although two issues of the Monster Mailer were promised, in reality only one issue was ever printed and mailed out, and the “year long” limit to the membership held no real weight.

Printed above is a reproduction of the box art as featured on the back of a Super Scary 24 pack. One may assume that monsters were packaged in with the playset, including (as in this depiction) The Monster, Hobgoblin and Harpy.